1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Ink jet recording apparatuses equipped with an ink head that discharges ink onto a recording medium such as a sheet of recording paper and a cutting head that cuts the recording medium have conventionally been known. The ink head and the cutting head are engaged with a guide rail extending in a predetermined direction and are carried by a carriage that moves along the guide rail.
In an ink jet recording apparatus in which a carriage is built into a cutting head, the ink head and the cutting head are structured to be mutually and freely attachable and detachable. When a printing function by the ink head takes place, the cutting head and the ink head become connected. The ink head is then carried in the scanning direction in one piece with the cutting head by the carriage built into the cutting head. As the ink head moves in the scanning direction, it discharges ink droplets on the recording medium. The connection between the cutting head and the ink head is released when cutting the recording medium. The ink head then stands by at a predetermined standby position, i.e., a home position, and the cutting head alone is carried by the built-in carriage.
Also, an ink jet recording apparatus that uses ink curable upon irradiation of ultraviolet light (hereafter referred to as “ultraviolet light curable ink”) as ink to be discharged from the ink head is known. The ink jet recording apparatuses that use the ultraviolet light curable ink are equipped with a device for irradiating ultraviolet light (hereafter referred to as an “ultraviolet light irradiation device”) to cure the ink which has been discharged from the ink head on a recording medium. An ultraviolet light irradiation device that is attached to an ink head and carried in one piece with the ink head in the scanning direction is known. Such an ultraviolet light irradiation device is capable of irradiating ultraviolet light only on a necessary portion of the recording medium, thereby suppressing wasteful irradiation of ultraviolet light.